Carrington can only hope the lure of fighting at “The Mecca of Boxing” and the opportunity to become champion in a fifth weight class are enough to convince Naoya Inoue to fight the Brooklyn native there either late this year or in 2027. The newly crowned WBC featherweight champion is optimistic about the possibility because the Japanese superstar expressed interest in facing him as early as 2024 and even attended one of Carrington’s wins in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Carrington (17-0, 10 KOs) has plenty of appealing options in the aftermath of his spectacular ninth-round knockout of Carlos Castro (30-4, 14 KOs) on “The Ring 6” undercard January 31. Inoue is obviously levels above any of Carrington’s potential opponents and would provide exposure Carrington needs to possibly become a star himself.

“I’ve been calling Inoue out since 2023,” Carrington told The Ring. “He’s the guy to beat in the lower weight classes. I feel like he’s flirted with coming up to featherweight for some time now. He’s even come to my fight, you know? It made me feel like he has his eyes on me and he knows that I have my eyes on him.

“So, it’s something that’s been brewing for some time. And if he does decide to make that jump up to 126, I’m right there at the door, waiting for him. And I cannot wait because he’s a great fighter, man. He’s literally one of the best in the game right now, and I would love to be able to share the ring with him and prove as to why I’m the best.”

Inoue, 32, is boxing’s undisputed junior featherweight champion and a former bantamweight, junior bantamweight and junior flyweight champ. He is also ranked second on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list.

Carrington, 28, ascended to No. 3 in The Ring’s featherweight top 10 after crushing Castro with a fantastic six-punch combination that left the contender flat on his back, unable to continue.

“I just think he’s really established at this point, a lotta people know who he is and people are just getting to know me,” Carrington said regarding Inoue. “So, that’s why people are like, ‘Shu Shu’ is just coming in. He’s not ready for this and he’s not gonna do that.’ But there’s so much more to my game that people haven’t seen. And a guy like Naoya Inoue is a perfect person to bring those things out. A fighter of that caliber brings the best out of me, so I genuinely can’t wait. I cannot wait until that day comes.”

Inoue (32-0, 27 KOs) has big business to handle within the 122-pound division before he’ll contemplate moving up to the featherweight limit of 126.

“The Monster” and former bantamweight champ Junto Nakatani are committed to a May showdown at Tokyo Dome, touted as the most meaningful bout between Japanese boxers in the country’s history. Nakatani (32-0, 24 KOs) is No. 7 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list.

“I will definitely be rooting for Inoue to win,” Carrington said. “I wanna be the first guy to beat Inoue, man. I know that’s gonna break the Internet. You know what I mean? That’s gonna be big news, so I really hope he does well against Nakatani when they fight in Tokyo.

“And then hopefully he makes the decision to move up, because I remember after he fought [Ramon] Cardenas in the post-fight press conference he was saying as long as he could make 122 as comfortably as he’s making it, he’s gonna stay down there. But maybe because of his last few wins he’s thinking about moving up. So, come play with the big boys.”

Producing a viral knockout at a sold-out Madison Square Garden provided even more motivation for Carrington to headline a huge card at the revered venue where “The Fight of the Century,” Joe Frazier’s famed 15-round points victory over Muhammad Ali, took place in March 1971.

“That fight [with Inoue] would definitely sell out, without a doubt,” Carrington said. “I feel like that’s a great venue for a fight of that magnitude. Fighting in the Tokyo Dome is cool, but I think that the American market in boxing is something that really takes over the Internet, in terms of the promotion and everything like that. It’s different fighting in America, so I would definitely rather fight over here than over there.”

Inoue is a mainstream star in his home country, rare for a Japanese boxer, but he also appreciates competing in the United States. He has fought four times in the U.S., most recently May 4 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where he stopped Cardenas in the eighth round of one of The Ring’s “Fight of the Year” candidates for 2025.

“It would be great for him to say he fought at the ‘Mecca of Boxing,’ the world’s most famous arena,” Carrington said. “Like that would be dope for him. He has already accomplished fighting in the Tokyo Dome and he wants to venture off and do other things. And I feel like he’s more on the tail end of his career, too. He’s accomplished so much, to where it’s like, ‘All right, I wanna accomplish other things now.’ Fighting in America, fighting in Madison Square Garden, it’s a big deal. And I hope that he maintains that interest, so that we can make it happen there.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.